Increasing use of pre-processed foods in homes and restaurants and other group eating establishments has created a demand for high-capacity automated food processing equipment. That demand is particularly evident with respect to hamburgers, molded steaks, fish cakes, and other molded food patties.
To increase consumer appeal it is known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate having contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that is curved or otherwise irregular to simulate the shape of a food item, such as a chicken drumstick. It is also known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate with contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty, and an overlying breather plate with contoured areas, to provide a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that also has a contoured top surface. However, in this arrangement, the bottom of the mold plate is flat to be flush against the flat fill plate or support plate provided on the mold patty forming machine. The corresponding molded patty has a flat bottom.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding three-dimensional food patties, each patty having an irregular or curved profile taken through a vertical cross-section and through a horizontal cross-section.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding food patties, each patty having both a top and a bottom non-flat surface contour.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing tooling for retrofitting a food patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of three-dimensional food patties, each patty having an irregular or curved profile taken through a vertical cross-section and through a horizontal cross-section.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a tooling for retrofitting a patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of three-dimensional food patties, each patty having both a top irregular or curved contour and a bottom irregular or curved contour.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus or tooling that is capable of molding food patties that more closely simulate the natural shape of a food item.